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In Germany, the government of Helmut Schmidt (social democrats) planned to implement an optical network to every house in west Germany in 1981. In 1982 Helmut
by slow_typist 2y ago
In Germany, the government of Helmut Schmidt (social democrats) planned to implement an optical network to every house in west Germany in 1981. In 1982 Helmut Kohl became chancellor, cancelled the 30 year plan and what we got was coax lines for cable TV. Thanks a lot, just imagine where Germany could be today … to be fair, a significant part of households gets their internet connection over the cable tv networks, but still it was a dumb decision.
German article on the matter:
https://netzpolitik.org/2018/danke-helmut-kohl-kabelfernsehen-statt-glasfaserausbau/ https://netzpolitik.org/2018/danke-helmut-kohl-kabelfernsehe...
- felixg3 2y agoDon‘t forget that Helmut Kohl was also sharing a bed with the television industry at that time when optical networks couldn’t transmit analogue television.
- lakomen 2y agoHe was a filthy, corrupt man.
- hgomersall 2y agoSimilar story in the UK: https://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/how-the-uk-lost-the-broadband-race-in-1990-1224784 https://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/how-the-uk-lost... Standard neoliberal bullshit coupled with a lack of imagination as to how things like local-loop unbundling might be used to create a competitive market. The UK is now in a fairly good position re broadband, but it could be so much better.